Phonograph and the like



E. w. MORTIMER ET AL- PHONOGRAPH AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept; 50, 1947 June 953 E. w. MORTIMER :1- AL 0,

PHONOGRAPH AND THE LIKE -5 Sheets-Sheet III AIIIIIIIIIIIIIF Filed Sept.50, 1947 I I I I l Ill i ll H III FIIIIIII RII June 2, 1953 E. w.MORTIMER ET AL PHONOGRAPH AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet s Filed Sept. 30,1947 'lllll June 2, 1953 E. w. MORTIMER El Al. 2,640,700

PHONOGRAPH AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 50; 1947 5 Sheet-Sheet 4 June 2,1953 E. w. MORTIMER ET AL PHONOGRAPH AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 30, 1947 5Sheets-Sheet 5 :HTfw Ta Patented June 2, 1953 .PHONOGRABH AND THE LIKEEdmund Walter Mortimer and 'Edward 'William Wilkins, Swindon, England,assignors "to The Garrard. Engineering and. Manufacturing CompanyLimited, 'Swindon, England 1 Application September 30, 1941, Serial No.777,026 In Great Britain-September 4, I946 Sectionl, Public. Law 690,August '8, 1946 Patent expires September 4, 1966 2 Claims.

.This invention relates to phonographs, radio.-

grams and the like (hereinafter referred to-as phono'graphs) wherein thephonograph unit is enclosed within a cabinet and access to the turntable.is obtained by a hinged lid, closing door, drawer or other movable partof the cabinet. For convenience the invention will be: described inreference to a phonograph enclosed within a cabniet having a 'hing nglid. .An. :object of the invention is to provide an improved andsimplified pick-up or tone: arm (hereinafter referred to as pick-up)controlling mechanism in which the pick-up is lowered. :on to or raisedfrom a record on the turntable by the closing or opening movementsaofthe lid.

.Aiurther object. isto provide resetting means for. the pick-upwhichau-tomatically returns the pick-up to the starting position throughthe opening movement of: the a A turther object is to provide selectingmeans for thepick-up :for playmg 10" or 12" records which areautomatically operated through the closing of the lid in accordance withthe size of. the recordin place on. the turntable.

Another object is to provide switch means for controlling the motorwhereby switohingon the motor is dependent upon -a record being mountedin position onthe turntable.

The inventionconsists ina phonograph unit enclosed or adapted to beenclosed within a. cablinethaving alhinging lidor displaceable openingpart wherein the pick-up is mounted upon the lid .01 displaceable. part.or. upon a. hinging; or displaceable plate co-operating with the lid,whereby .on closing or. opening the or displaceable part, or lowering orraising-the plate the pick-up is lowered on to or raised from therecord.

The invention also consists in .a phonograph unit adapted to be enclosedwithin .a cabinet having'a. hingingli'd, wherein the pick-up is carriedupon a hinging over-arm co-operating with the lid, whereby on closing oropening theili'd, the pickup is lowered on to or raised from the record.a

"The pick-up may be. carried by a bearingelement slidable on a. trackingbar or elementv which isxmotmted on thehi'nging over-armat an anglepreferably a right. angle to the hinging axis such thatan opening thelidthe pick-up automatically returns underthe action o'fgravity to thestartingpositi'on;

In the 'casewhere either 10" or I2 records areto be played, means may beprovided, for automatically setting the pickup to the I0 position andmeans operable by the presence of a 12" record on the turntable, formodifying the movement. of said automatic means whereby the pick-upissetat .12" position.

Alternatively the pick-up may normally Joe-resetto the 12" position andmeans .may .be .provided for moving the pick-up against gravity to theposition for playing a 10" record.

.As a further alternative manual resetting means for the pick-up may beprovided.

According to a further feature of the invention, on. closing the lid, astartingswitchin the circuit of the motor driving the turntable isautomatically closed, and in order to prevent the motor operating when.no record is in position on the turntable, a supplementary switch, inseries with the starting switch, is provided which is actuated by therecord. With such arrangement, means automatically actuated by thepickup at the end of the record are provided for opening the startingswitch to cut out the motor.

According to" a further feature of the invention the tracking rod whichguides the pickup acrossthe record may be inclined to provide a biasagainst the movement of the pick-up to minimise the amount of pull ofthe-record groove to move the pick-up across the record.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figures 1 to 8' are views of a preferred formvot phonograph unitaccording to the invention,

' Figure l isa plan of the unit,

Figure 2 is an elevation,

Figure 3 :is :an elevation :at right angles to Figure-2', thetpartsbeing in. position corresponding to a I0 record,

Figure 4 is an elevation, partly in section showing the partsinpositionfor a 12" record,

Figure 5 is a part sectional elevation showing the starting switchin'playing' position.

Figure 6 is a similar view" with the trip lever released and. thestarting switch open,

Figure 7 isa detail view showing there-engagement of the trip lever withthe switch lever, and

Figure 8 is a cross section taken through the pivot pm of the over-arm.

Figure-9 is a plan of a modification in which the pick-up and controlmeans are mounted :directly upon the lid of a cabinet,

Figure 10 is an elevation partly in section on line Iii-l0 of Figure 9,

Figure 1.1 is an end elevation looking in the direction of arrow A,Figure 9,

Figure 12 is a front elevation of a selector control means, and

Figure 13 is an end elevation of the selector control.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient modeas applied to a selfcontained unit adapted to be mounted in a cabinethaving a hinged lid, the pick-up I is carried by an over-arm 2 which ispivoted upon a pin 3 supported by a base or bracket 4 mounted upon themotor plate 5. The plate is adapted to be secured in the cabinet in anysuitable manner either directly or by anti-vibration means so that theaxis of the pin 3 lies parallel to the hinging axis of the lid of thecabinet. The over-arm 2 is provided with a lug 6 adapted for engagementby an abutment secured to the cabinet lid whereby the over-arm will beraised or 1owered by a pivotal movement about the pin 3 as the lid isopened or closed.

The pick-up I is provided with a crosshead or carriage I which ismounted to slide upon the bar 8 which is carried by the over-arm 2, theaxis of the bar being at right angles to the axis of the pin 3. Thecrosshead I may be provided with anti-friction means permitting pivotalmovement of the pick-up l on the bar 8. A supporting rod 9 mounted inprojections II] of the over-arm 2 and lying parallel to the bar 8supports the pick-up during its return movement as hereinafter referredto.

The bar 8 has an axial bore in which a rod II is mounted for slidingmovement. At one end the rod II is provided with a collar I2 while atthe other end it carries a plate I3 in which a pin i4 is adjustablymounted. The pin I4- extends through a hole in the projection We of theoverarm and lies in the path of the crosshead I of the pick-up.

The collar I2 is adapted to co-operate with an arm I5 of a trip lever I6pivotally mounted on the over-arm. The trip lever I6 operates to hold apivoted switch arm I! in the on position in which the contact I8 engagesthe spring contacts I9 (see Figure 5). Release of the arm H by the triplever I6 allows the spring 20 to move the switch arm IT to the offposition (see Figure 6). The spring contacts I9 are mounted on the motorplate.

The release movement of the trip lever I6 is effected by the pick-upcrosshead I engaging the pin I4 and causing an axial movement of the rodII which through the collar I2 pivots the trip lever I6.

The re-engagement of the trip lever IS with the switch arm IT iseffected by raising the over-arm 2 whereupon the nose 2I of the triplever passes the surface 22 of the switch arm. The trip lever I6 is heldin engagement with the switch arm by the spring 23. The switch contactsI9 are connected in series with a supplementary switch adapted to beoperated by the placing of a record on the turntable 24. I

The supplementary switch comprises a pair of spring contacts 25, 26which are mounted in a housing 21 located at the base of the turntablespindle housing or bearing 28. Extending through the spindle 29 is a rod30 having a flanged cap 3| for engaging the hole in a record. At itslower end the rod 30 is provided with an insulating switch plug 32. Whena record is placed in position on the turntable it engages the flange ofthe cap 3| and presses the rod 30 downwardly causing the upper springcontact 25 to flex and contact the lower spring contact 26. By thisarrangement the closing of switch I9 by lowering of the over-arm willnot start the motor unless the contacts 25 and 26 are closed by thepresence of a record on the turntable.

When the over-arm 21s raised at the end of playing a record the pick-upI will slide by gravity until it is stopped by the projection I0. Duringsuch return movement the pick-up is supported by the rod 9. The positionto which the pick-up returns corresponds to the position for playing a12" record as shown in Figure 4.

Selecting means are provided by which the pick-up is allowed to remainin the 12 position or is moved to a position for playing a 10 record.These selecting means are controlled by the size of the record placed onthe turntable and comprise a selecting lever 33 pivotally mounted at 34on the bracket 4. The lever 33 carries a plunger 35 which is located ina position such that it may contact the lower surface of a 12" recordbut not a I0" record. The lever 33 is moved upwardly by a spring 36.Such movement is controlled by a control lever 31 pivotally mounted onan extension 38 of the over-arm 2. This lever 31 carries a pin 39 whichis adapted to engage in a recess 40 in the selector lever 33 when a 10record is in position (see Figure 3) or a surface 4| when a 12 record isin position.

Assuming a 12" record is on the turntable (see Figure 4) the engagementof the plunger 35 with the record causes the selector lever 33 to bedepressed, so that the pin 39 will engage with the cam surface 4!instead of the recess 40. Consequently when the over-arm 2 is lowered bythe action of the lid the pin 33 will be accommodated by the surface 4|and there will be no pivotal movement of the control lever 31. Thepick-up I will therefore remain in the position conforming to thecommencement of the 12" record groove. When the pin 39 engages thesurface 4| the selector lever 33 will be pivoted downwardly to move theplunger 35 out of contact with the record.

On the other hand when a 10" record is in position on the turntable (seeFigure 3) the selector lever 33 remains in its upper position so thatwhen the over-arm 2 is lowered the pin 39 on the control lever 31engages in the recess 40 and functioning as a fulcrum for the lever 31causes such lever to pivot. This pivoting of the lever brings its upperend into contact with a push rod 42 mounted for axial movement inbrackets 43 in the over-arm 2. This push rod carries a plate 44 againstwhich the crosshead I of the pick-up is adapted to abut. The pivotalmovement of the control lever 31, through the push rod 42 and plate 44will move the pick-up to the position conforming to the commencement ofa 10" record groove.

When the over-arm is in its lowered position a part 45 thereon abutsagainst an adjustable stop 46, carried by the bracket 4.

In operation, the over arm being raised, a record (say a 10" record) isplaced on the turntable 24. This causes the pin 30 to move downwardlyunder the weight of the record to close the supplementary switch 25, 26.As the overarm 2 is pivoted downwardly by a closing of the cabinet lidthe contact I8 is moved across the contacts I9 so that the motor isstarted. At the same time by the engagement of the pin .39 in the recess40 the control lever 31 is pivoted causing the push rod 42 and plate 44to set the pick-up in the correct position. At the end of the playing ofthe record when the needle enters the runout or stopping groove thepick-up crosshead I engages the pin I4 moving the rod II and oper-.

atmg :the trip lever I 6 whereby'the'startingrswitch 119. is opened.

- When the over-arm is raiscdthe ipick-upruns back under gravityto theposition corresponding to the 12" record and the trip lever it engagesthe. switch arm I! and holds it position for closing the switch 18 whenthe over-amn isragain lowered. In its return movement ithe-pick-up issupported by the rod 9, the position of which however is such that thereis no contact with the pick-up during. the playing movement.

When a 12" record is placed on the turntable 24., the supplementaryswitch is closed and the selector lever '33 depressed. On lowering theover-arm 2 the switch I9 is closed and' the'motor started. By thedepression *of the selector lever the control lever does not function sothat the pick-up remains set for a l2" record. The selector lever isfurther depressed by the pin 39 to remove the plunger from contact withthe record.

At the end of playing the record the trip lever 15 is actuated torelease the switch arm "and the motor cut out. When theover-arm'israised and the 12" record removed the selector lever rises sothat the pin 59 is engaged in the recess 45. Subsequent actuation of theparts will depend on the size of record placed on the turntable.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that the path of the needle across therecord conforms tora radius of the record to which the -bar 5isparall'el, so that true tangential tracking is maintained.

Moreover when the cabinet is closed without a record being in positionon the turntable, owing.

to the supplementary switch being open, the

motor will not be started in spite of the closing of the startingswitch. 7

Instead of the lug '5 and complementary mean on the cabinet, the raisingofthe over-arm 2 may be efiected by spring, means, lowering .beingefiect'ed by a part of the cabinet lid engaging the upper surface of theover-arm.

In carryin the invention into effect according to a modification inwhich thepick-upzand' control mechanism is mounted directly upon. thecabinet lid, the pick-up unit (see 19) .is carried by a plate 5| whichis rsecured to the inner surface of the lid 52 by screws or :otherwise.The pick-up is mounted upon a cross'head or carriage 53 which movesalong a trackinjghar 54. This bar is carried at its ends in a of posts55 secured to the plate 51. The positionnf the tracking bar 54 is suchthat the path of the stylus is along a radius of the record.

The mounting of the carriage 53 on the tracking bar 55 is by ballbearings so that its movement is substantially frictionless.

Also mounted upon the plate by means of posts I 55 is a supporting rod51 which is arranged parallel to the tracking bar, which rod supportsthe free end of the pick-up 50 when the lid '52 is raised. During theplaying of a record the pickup is free from contact with the rod 51.

The position or the tracking bar 54 is arranged at an angle relativelyto the hinging edge of the lid so that when the lid 52 is raised thepickup 50 will automatically move along the bar under the action ofgravity to return to the starting position.

A resetting stop 58 is provided for limiting the return movement of thepick-up, and for the purpose of playing either 10 or 12" records thestop is mounted upon one arm 59 of a bell-crank lever which is pivotallymounted upon the plate 5|. The other arm projects toward the rear edgeof the: lidand isprovided with -:a cam .slot Bl into which a trigger arm.52 projects. trigger zarm62 is pivotally mounted upon a bearingmemberor fitting .53 secured to the wall 5L4 ofithe lidandirictiona'llyengages a sleeve 65 rotatably mounted-on the. hearing, a spring 155vbeing :providedfor giving the desired frictional: grip. 'Thesleeue -65carries a radial arm 66! having a roller 58 .on its free end, sucharmprojecting toward the turntable E9.

When. the :lid 52 isopen the roller 68 is spaced from the turntable :andthe length of the arm 67 is .such that the roller willv overlie theouter margin of a 12" record, :but not a 10" record, the arrangementbeing such that when the lid is moved toiits. closed position the roller58 will engage the 12" record and cause a rotary movement of the :sleeve.55 which is imparted to the trigger *612 to effect a. displacement ofthe bellcrank lever 59, 5.0 and the stop 58 and so release the pick-up.carriage .53 whereby the pick-up automatically moves to the 12''position.

The roller armifi-l lies below a rail 58a fixed on the motor board .75and a second arm H on the sleeve is adapted to engage the top of themail, after the release action of the stop 58 to raise the roller fromthe record- The frictional grip between the trigger 5'2 and the sleeve155 permits relative movement or lost motion between. the parts. Whenplaying a 10 record the roller .arm El movesdown into an opening orrecess in the motor board so that there is no release of the settingstop.

The automatic starting :of the motor is efiected by'a spring controlledstartingswitch 12 which is mounted on the motor aboard, .saidswitchhaving a plunger .13 which is: adapted to be engaged to close the switch:by apart of the mechanism secured to the lid. I

'In orderto prevent switching in the motor in the absence of a record onthe turntable, a second switchis-provided-in series with the startingswitch. This second switch is adapted to be. operated against the actionof .a spring "by the we'ight of the record. The switch'is .providedwithan actuating plunger M- extending through the turntable spindle l5 andseated at its lower end on one spring contact 1'6 of the switch. Theplunger is provided with a flange TI on which the record seats to pressit downwardly and close the switch.

Forthe purpose of opening the motor circuit at the end. of the playingof the record, the starting switch 12 is operated by a displaceable rod18 which is slidable within an axial bore in the tracking bar 54. Thisrod 18 extends to the upper end of the tracking bar where it is providedwith a transverse pin 19 passing through a slot in the tracking bar. Atthe end of the playing of the record the pick-up carriage 53 is adaptedto engage the pin l9 and move the displaceable rod 18 out of contactwith the plunger l3 of the starting switch and thus open the switch andstop the motor. On raising the lid and the pick-up carriage 53returning, the displaceable rod 18 returns under spring action to itsposition for actuating the starting switch. For adjustment purposes, thepick-up'carriage 53 is provided with an adjustable end stop for engagingthe transverse pin.

The pick-up so may be of any suitable type and conveniently may comprisea piezo crystal pick-up which is plugged into an insulator block securedon the carriage 53.

In operation, the lid being raised causes the 7 pick-up carriage 53 tomove by gravity into con-- tact with the setting stop 58.

On placing a 10" record on the turntable 69 the second switch is closed.The lid is then lowered to the closed position, bringing the stylus onto the record at the starting position, This action lowers thesupporting rod from contact with the pick-up. At the same time thestarting switch 12 is closed and the motor drives the turntable.

When the stylus or needle moves into the runout groove the stop 88 onthe carriage 53 engages the transverse pin 19 and the starting switch isopened, cutting out the motor.

On raising the lid the pick-up c is lifted off the record and thecarriage 53 runs down the tracking bar 54 returning the pick-up to thestarting position, where the carriage engages the resetting stop 58.Removal of the record from the turntable opens the second switch.

When playing a 12" record the above operations are carried out and inaddition the trigger 62 is released by engagement of the roller 68 onthe arm 6'1 with the record to set the pick-up at the 12" position.

We claim:

1. In a phonograph unit enclosed within a cabinet having a hinging lid,a turntable for mounting playing records of more than one size,

' a motor drive for said turntable, a hinging arm mounted adjacent theturntable, means operatively connecting said hinging arm with thehinging lid at an angle relative to the hinging edge of the 'hinging lidof the cabinet and a pickup slidably mounted on said hinging arm forreciprocation thereon; said hinging arm being mounted in parallelismwith said turntable and said pickup being mounted in initial playingposition for contact with the entering groove of the record on saidturntable and movement toward the center thereof when the hinging lid ofthe cabinet is closed and said hinging arm and said pickup beingangularly displaceable on said hinging arm away from said turntable andthe record thereon and said pickup being displaceable by gravity awayfrom the center of said record toward initial playing position when theliinging lid of the cabinet is opened; stop means slidably mounted onsaid hinging arm for movement between two positions, said stop means inone position being abuttable by said pickup dur ing the movement of saidpickup by gravity when the hinged lid of the cabinet is opened; therebydetermining the initial playing position of said pickup for the one sizeof record, irrespective of the size of the last-played record on theturntable; record measuring means pivotally mounted for movement normalto said turntable and the record carried thereby, said measuring meansbeing biased to extend beyond the plane of said turntable and the recordthereon only, when a record smaller than the one size of record isdisposed on said turntable, stop positioning means operatively connectedbetween said stop means and said record measuring means, said stoppositioning means being actuatable by said measuring means upon closingof the hinging lid of the cabinet only when the record on the turntableis of a size smaller than the one size of record for displacing saidstop means and thereb said pickup against gravity to an initial playingposition other than that determined for the one size of record upon theopening of the hinging lid.

2. A phonograph unit adapted for playing records as claimed in claim 1,wherein said measuring means comprising a selecting lever pivoted on thehinging arm and having a plunger adapted to engage the under surfaces ofa 12" record, a control lever pivoted on the hinging arm and adapted toengage a push rod mounted for reciprocation on the hinging arm andhaving the stop means with which the pickup is adapted to abut, saidselecting lever having a recess into which a pin on the control leverengages when a 10" record is on .the turntable, whereby on lowering thehinging arm the control lever pivots about said pin and moves the pushrod and sets the pickup to the 10 position.

EDMUND WALTER MORTIMER. EDWARD WILLIAM W'ILKINS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,429,839 Boswell Sept. 19, 1922 1,454,504 Burch May 8, 19231,711,666 Adams May 7, 1929 2,113,401 Goldsmith Apr. 5, 1938 2,166,986Dally July 25, 1939 2,219,504 Krause Oct. 22, 1940 2,316,174 Kurzen Apr.13, 1943 2,552,757 Adler et al. May 15, 1951 2,556,421 Gee June 12, 1951

